A long time ago in a galaxy you're very familiar with, blockbuster movies changed.

Not that too many people knew it at the time. After all, when "Star Wars" debuted on May 25,1977 -- minus the "A New Hope" subtitle -- it was only in smattering of theaters nationwide.

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It became a phenomenon quickly, though. The near-perfect merger of revolutionary special effects and the time-tested hero's journey spawned a franchise that features three sequels (so far), three prequels, a spin-off film, a slew of television series, novels, comic books, toys (oh, the toys...), a major purchase by Disney and the promise of plenty more entertainment to come.

As the series marks its 40th anniversary of hitting the silver screen, the legacy of the first entry in the Skywalker saga is again in the spotlight. And while the debates over the subsequent films' quality continue four decades later, the original was a hit with audiences and critics alike.

The Hollywood Reporter: "'Star Wars,' a Lucasfilm Ltd. production for 20th Century-Fox, will undoubtedly emerge as one of the true classics in the genre of science fiction/fantasy films. In any event, it will be thrilling audiences of all ages for a long time to come. ... The film, written and directed by George Lucas and produced by Gary Kurtz, is magnificent in scope, but the script and the engaging performances also add an effective human element to the totally believable technological aspects."

New York Daily News: "Using such interplanetary stalwarts as Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers for inspiration, director George Lucas has concocted a mind-blowing spectacle that sends the audience off onto the wondrously strange world of fantasy and satisfies just about everyone’s adolescent craving for a corny old-fashioned adventure movie. ... somewhat grounded by a malfunctioning script and hopelessly infantile dialogue, but from a technical standpoint, it is an absolutely breathtaking achievement."

Time: "Despite the talent and the money arrayed against it, Star Wars has one clear advantage: it is simple, elemental, and therefore unique. It has a happy ending, a rarity these days. ... For most audiences the only sadness in the climax is that the film ends and cannot go on and on and on. It is surely one of the swiftest two hours on celluloid."

The Orange County Register: "...nothing short of pure unadulterated entertainment, something that has been sorely lacking in a great majority of recent films."

The Boston Globe: "I don't want to linger on the plot, which looks funny on the printed page. It photographs marvelously, especially against a brave new world backdrop and some extraordinary special effects. The dialogue and the narrative surges through it all with the smartness of a whip."

Los Angeles Times: "Tributes to the movie past have often been campy spoofs which suggest that it was all rather quaint. 'Star Wars' is a celebration which, in the ultimate tribute to the past, has a robust and free-wheeling life of its own, needing no powers of recollection to be fully appreciated. It employs some of the dramatic devices out of the past for the good and simple reason that they worked well (and probably because they evoked strong and positive responses in the souls of those of us watching)."

Roger Ebert: "Every once in a while I have what I think of as an out-of-the-body experience at a movie. ... What makes the 'Star Wars' experience unique, though, is that it happens on such an innocent and often funny level. It's usually violence that draws me so deeply into a movie -- violence ranging from the psychological torment of a Bergman character to the mindless crunch of a shark's jaws. Maybe movies that scare us find the most direct route to our imaginations. But there's hardly any violence at all in "Star Wars" (and even then it's presented as essentially bloodless swashbuckling). Instead, there's entertainment so direct and simple that all of the complications of the modern movie seem to vaporize."